Before you enjoy your Aperol Spritz or Prosecco in Italy, you might want to raise a toast.
Do you know how to say “cheers” in Italian?
There are two words you’ll hear all the time, and there’s a slight difference between them.
In this post, find out when to say salute and when to say cin cin. You’ll learn how to pronounce them, and a couple of other handy words you might need when raising your glass.
Be sure to read until the end to learn a few important Italian toasting traditions (and avoid bringing your Italian friends bad luck!)
Let’s start with the simplest, most versatile way to say “cheers” in Italian.
Salute!
This literally means “health” and you can use it in any situation, from a drink with friends to a formal work function.
It’s pronounced SAH – LOO – TEH. Let’s see a couple of examples:
Abbiamo tutti un bicchiere? Salute!! – Do we all have a glass? Cheers!
Salute! Grazie di essere venuti. – Cheers! Thank you for coming.
Good to know: Interestingly, you can also say salute when someone sneezes, a bit like saying “bless you”.
And if you speak Spanish, be careful not to get it mixed up with Salud! It’s similar, but in Italian, you’ll need to pronounce the three syllables: SAH – LOO – TEH.
Cin cin!
This way of saying “cheers” is suited to informal, everyday situations, like having friends over for dinner or a casual drink at the bar.
It’s pronounced CHEEN CHEEN (a little like the English word “chin”, but with a longer ee in the middle).
Il vino è finalmente arrivato. Allora, cin cin! – The wine has finally arrived. Well, cheers!
Ho prenotato la vacanza in Italia! Cin cin! – I booked the vacation to Italy! Cheers!
Sometimes, you might hear Italians say it just once: “cin!”
Un brindisi!
You know how in English you can raise your glass and say “a toast”? It works the same in Italian. To say “a toast”, we say un brindisi. It’s pronounced BREEN – DEE – ZEE.
For example:
Un brindisi al cuoco! – A toast to the cook!
Un brindisi agli sposi! – A toast to the newlyweds!
Facciamo un brindisi! – Let’s raise a toast!
To talk about ‘raising a toast’ or simply ‘toasting’, we say:
Fare un brindisi – To raise a toast (lit. “to do a toast”)
Brindare – To toast
A noi!
Another simple way to raise a toast to someone in Italian is to say a followed by their name. For example:
A noi! – To us!
A mio papà! – To my dad!
A Matteo! – To Matteo!
Now you know which words to say, it’s time to learn about a few Italian toasting traditions.
Italian toasting traditions
Italians can be very superstiziosi – superstitious at times! If you want to toast like a true Italian (and avoid bad luck) here are a few rules to follow when raising your glass.
Maintain eye contact
When you clink glasses with someone, remember to look them in the eye. If you don’t, it’s not uncommon for an Italian to try again and insist that you maintain eye contact this time! They might say:
Guardami negli occhi – Look me in the eyes
Don’t cheers with water
In some areas of Italy, it’s considered bad luck to toast with non-alcoholic drinks. The same is true of empty glasses or any recipient that isn’t made from glass. You might hear:
Non con l’acqua! – Not with water!
Non con il bicchiere vuoto! – Not with an empty glass!
Non con la plastica! – Not with plastic!
Don’t cross your arms
As you’re clinking your glass with people across the table, be careful not to cross arms with other people who are also clinking their glasses, or… you guessed it, more bad luck for you!
Tap the table before you sip
Here’s a funny one. Italians often tap their glass on the table between toasting and taking their first sip. While this ritual isn’t considered polite in overly formal situations, many younger Italians do it in relaxed settings.
There are a few theories about the origin of this tradition and in most cases it’s perfectly innocent. But in some areas of Italy, forgetting to tap means no sex for you!
Cheers in Italian: Review
There are two main ways to say “cheers” in Italian:
Salute! – For any occasion
Cin cin! – For everyday situations with friends and family
Here are a few other common expressions you might find useful:
Un brindisi! – A toast!
Fare un brindisi – To raise a toast (lit. “do” a toast)
A noi! – To us!
A Matteo! – To Matteo!
Italians have quite a few traditions and superstitions around toasting. The main one is to always maintain eye contact with someone while you clink their glass.
A guide to saying "cheers" in Italian: Quiz and Vocabulary Cards
Time to check your understanding and remember everything you just learned! Below you’ll find a mini-quiz and some vocabulary cards to help it all go in.
Quiz
How much did you learn? Find out in the quiz!
Click here to take the quiz for this episode: A guide to saying "cheers" in Italian
Vocabulary
Fare un brindisi = To raise a toast (lit. “do” a toast)
A noi! = To us!
A Matteo! = To Matteo!
Un brindisi! = A toast!
Salute! = “Cheers” for any occasion (lit. “health”)
Cin cin! = “Cheers” for everyday situations with friends and family
Guardami negli occhi = Look me in the eyes
Non con il bicchiere di plastica = Not with the plastic glass
Flashcards: A guide to saying "cheers" in Italian
Remember the vocabulary from this lesson by downloading the digital flashcards
Not sure how it works? Click here to watch the tutorial
Transcript: Salute! A guide to saying "cheers" in Italian
Please note, this is not a word for word transcript.
K: Ciao a tutti e benvenuti! Hi everyone and welcome to “Learn Italian with Joy of Languages”.
M: A little while ago on this podcast, we talked about something you do that annoys me. Offering me more options once we’ve already made a decision. Today we’re talking about something I do that annoys you...
K: Mmmm, interrupting me when I’m working? Leaving your clothes on the bed? Oh I know… not correcting me when I make a mistake in Italian!
M: No! It’s being overly superstitious about toasts.
K: Oh yeah, you’re really mean about that, when all I want to do is say “cheers”.
M: Let’s listen to the conversation. How many different ways can you hear to say “cheers” in Italian?
K: Un brindisi!
M: No, non con il bicchiere di plastica. Usa un calice!
K: Ok, allora… salute!
M: Sì, ma guardami negli occhi!
K: Va bene. Cin cin!
M: Noo! Ma è acqua!!
K: I said to Matteo:
M: Un brindisi! – A toast!
K: Un brindisi is how Italians say “a toast”. So you can raise your glass and say this. “A toast”...
M: Un brindisi (x2)
K: But Matteo isn’t happy about something.
M: No, non con il bicchiere di plastica. – No, not with a plastic cup. Literally:
Non – not
Con – with
Il – the
Bicchiere – glass
Di – of
Plastica – plastic
K: So I know it’s not polite to talk about stereotypes. But I’ve noticed that people from Naples, where Matteo’s from, tend to be really superstitious.
M: This one is true. We have lots of little things you can’t do when toasting, because they bring bad luck. One of them is toasting with anything that’s not glass.
K: Then Matteo says:
Usa un calice! – Use a wine glass!
Usa – use
Un – a
Calice – wine glass
K: You might already know the Italian word for bicchiere, which means glass. If you’re talking about wine, you can also use the word calice, which is a specific word for a wine glass. It’s probably related to the word “chalice”, but in Italian, there’s nothing mediaeval about it. And it starts with a K sound:
M: Calice (x2).
K: To keep Matteo happy, I get a wine glass and try again.
M: Ok, allora… salute! – Ok, well, cheers!
OK – ok
Allora – well
Salute – cheers
K: Here’s the standard way to say “cheers” in Italian. It literally means “health”, so in some ways, it’s linked to how we might say “to your health” in English. In Italian, it’s the standard way to say “cheers”. Use it in any situation, from formal, like work conferences and weddings, to drinks with friends at the bar.
M: Salute (x2)
K: But Matteo’s still not ready to toast. He says:
M: Sì, ma guardami negli occhi! – Yes, but look me in the eyes!
Sì – yes
Ma – but
Guardami – look me
Negli – in the
Occhi – eyes
K: Just a quick note, if you’re not sure where the “negli” comes from, to mean “in the”, go to episode 118 on our blog, where we talk about these little words, called “articulated prepositions”.
M: For now, here’s something very important to know about toasting in Italy! All over Italy, it’s considered bad luck not to look someone in the eyes when you toast.
K: Yes, it can be a bit intense if you’re not used to it! So I try again, this time looking Matteo in the eyes, and say…
M: Va bene. Cin-cin! – OK, cheers!
Va bene – Another way to say “ok”
Cin-cin! – Cheers!
K: Cin cin is a really common way to say “cheers” in Italian. It’s more informal, and you’ll hear it in everyday situations, for example, over an aperitivo with friends and family.
M: Cin cin! (x2). Sometimes we only say it once: “cin”.
K: Then Matteo realises something:
M: Noo! Ma è acqua!! – Noo! But it’s water!!
Ma – but
È – it’s
Acqua – water
M: In Naples, it’s bad luck to toast with water. Or anything that’s not alcohol actually.
K: I don’t always drink alcohol, but Matteo is so mean with all these rules, he won’t let me join in the “cheers” with everyone. So to get my revenge, I like to trick him.
M: That’s so sneaky, you’re bringing me bad luck!
K: He won’t even let our friends' kids clink glasses with him.
M: Because it’s bad luck!
K: Let’s review the most important words from this episode. To say “a toast”, we say…
M: Un brindisi (x2)
K: There’s a standard way to say “cheers” that you can use in all situations. it literally means “health”:
M: Salute (x2)
K: And a slightly more informal way that you’ll hear over a drink or at dinner with friends and family:
M: Cin cin (x2)
K: Let’s listen to the conversation again:
K: Un brindisi!
M: No, non con il bicchiere di plastica. Usa un calice!
K: Ok, allora… salute!
M: Sì, ma guardami negli occhi!
K: Va bene. Cin- cin!
M: Noo! Ma è acqua!!
K: And speaking of “cheers”, we’re heading into Christmas soon, which means we’re busy preparing for the next opening of our Online Italian School in January! So we’ll be taking a little break from the podcast over the next few weeks.
M: We’ll be back in gennaio, January, ready to help you learn lots of Italian in the New Year. And we’d love to stay in touch in the meantime.
K: You can do that by joining our newsletter, where we’ll send you updates about our Online Italian school, and you’ll be the first to know when doors open at the beginning of January. To join, click the link in the podcast description.
M - See you next time.
K - Or as we say in Italian.
Alla prossima!
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